Various hydrocarbon compounds are useful as fuel components or fuel additives. These compounds are typically extracted and refined from petroleum, which is a non-renewable fossil fuel. However, the use of petroleum to generate the world's fuel supply has been the subject of much concern for many years, including worries about the depletion of the finite resource and the impact such depletion would have on a world economy that has become dependent on fossil fuel. Additional domestic concerns have centered around the reliance on foreign petroleum stores to meet the country's energy needs. In light of these concerns, some efforts have been undertaken to reduce the world's reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce the country's reliance on foreign petroleum stores. While some of these efforts have made strides in reducing petroleum consumption (e.g., the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles), insufficient progress has been made towards the replacement (or supplementation) of petroleum as the source of the world's fuel needs.